Elderly Kansas City man found dead in backyard pool

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police have confirmed a man, approximately 70 years of age, was found dead in a backyard pool late Tuesday morning in Kansas City, Mo. They say the man could have been there for days.

According to Public Information Officer James Garrett, the man was found in a backyard pool at a home in the 10900 block of Poplar Ave. around 10:30 a.m.

"Upon arrival, we did find a male deceased in the back yard in the pool," said Major Karl Oakman, with the KCMO Police Department.

Neighbors say they haven't seen the 70-year-old man since last Friday. Gene Lunby, who lives nearby, told FOX 4 he had been growing concerned after not seeing his neighbor.

"I’ve just been expecting something to happen over there for a couple of days,” Lunby said. “It’s just a feeling I had.”

When asked what prompted those feelings, Lunby said he usually sees his neighbor outside but hadn’t in the last couple of days.

"I haven't seen him," said one neighbor, Gene Lundy. "I normally see him out cutting the grass or talk to him about something."

The victim's wife stated she had been out-of-town for a couple of days and when she returned home she found her husband in the pool. That's when she called police.

"Right now, it's hard to determine what the cause of death is, so right now we're ruling the death a suspicious until further investigation," Oakman added.

Police say the man lived there with his wife and adult son. Neighbors say the son has been home.

"He made some remark the other night, he said, my dad's driving me nuts, or something like that," Lundy said, referring to the victim's son.

Neighbors say they have exchanged words with the son but didn't know him too well.

"He sticks to himself pretty much," said Lundy.

Both the wife and son have been taken in for questioning and police say the elderly man could have been dead in the pool for a few days.

"It appears that he had been there for some time," Oakman said.

Police are still investigating what happened, but an autopsy will be performed to find out the exact cause of death.